AFT President Randi Weingarten on ‘Con Con’ Results

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten on the results of the constitutional convention ballot measure in New York:

“Tonight New Yorkers voted to protect our rights to a free public education, to join a union and bargain collectively, and to workers’ compensation and basic safety and protections on the job. We voted to protect pensions, supports for seniors and the poor, and the ‘forever wild’ provision of our state constitution that has protected the beautiful Adirondacks and Catskills. All of these rights would have been at risk in a state constitutional convention that would have attracted big monied interests who want to strip people of their rights and economic opportunity in order to enrich and empower themselves and their friends.

“This victory would not have been possible without the union members who drove this campaign—organizing their communities, educating their neighbors, going door to door, making phone calls, and getting out the vote. Together we mobilized New Yorkers to oppose this reckless and risky ballot measure. We thank the New York State United Teachers, the New York State AFL-CIO, the Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood and all the progressive groups for their leadership to defeat this measure. To the proponents of Con Con who believed this was a moment to fix Albany, let’s now work together to really change Albany by electing people in 2018 who share our values. That is how we create lasting change for working people and advance the progressive values we all care about.”